the president stared down the republicans. they blinked. >> ifill: congress still faces other fiscal fights. automatic spending cuts are due to kick in on march first, and funding for the government runs out march 27. so, can the republican party use fiscal issues to regain its footing? for more on the political fights ahead we turn to susan page, washington bureau chief for "u.s.a. today." and stuart rothenberg of the "rothenberg political report" and "roll call." chuck schumer just said the republicans brinked. did they blink, susan, and does it matter they did? >> hin a big recalbraigz on their part. they find themselves on the defensive when it comes to the debt ceiling issue. remember how they vowed they would only raise the debt ceiling by a dollar for every dollar cut in spending. now they said never mind. we'll push that down the road. the big fight will be on the sweeping spending cuts that go into effect march 1 and on the government funding that runs out on march 27. march is going to be the month to watch, and it's